To Battle The Mimic
The Siberian region of the former U.S.S.R. At the request of Charles Xavier, Cable brought X-Force members Caliban, Warpath and Sunspot here to find out why a tracking station went off-line.
Xavier, one of the world's leading authorities on genetic mutation and the founder of the X-Men, had an 'arrangement' with the tracking station. The men there, three human scientists, were members of Xavier's Mutant Underground, humans who secretly work to help the cause of equality between Homo Sapiens and Homo Superior.
What they found instead was the station destroyed and the scientists dead. And an unexpected survivor known as...the Mimic.
Calvin Rankin was an All-American kid whose father's experiments gave him the unique ability to 'mimic' another's mutant power. For a brief time, he was a member of the X-Men. But, his powers were unstable...uncontrollable. In order to survive, Calvin had to get away for all mutants. He had found sanctuary here. Now it has all been taken away from him.
"Another...telepath!" Mimic screams telepathically into Cable's head. "That means...more of you have come! I was happy here...safe! Now, you've wrecked all that! All I wanted was to be left alone! My power...it's worse than before!"
"I want to get in there and help..." Sunspot thinks, as he observes from above. "But, Cable ordered me to stay back."
While below, Caliban turns to Warpath and says,
"Bird-Man is hurting Cable/Nathan, Warpath. Can feel it in Caliban's head."
"That's 'cause we're all still psi-linked with Cable." James explains. "We gotta work together and take this guy down, fast!" James leaps forward and grabs Mimic by his leg. "Got him! Let's see what we can do about bringing you down to earth!"
"Good!" Caliban yells. "Caliban will grab the other foot."
The speed at which James Proudstar moves is nothing short of remarkable for this young warrior. For his swiftness of foot and strength of arm are but two mutant abilities that set Warpath apart from his Apache brethren.
"Don't touch me!" Mimic yells. "Don't you know what will happen to you? What will happen to all of us?"
Somehow, the Mimic has retained the powers of the original X-Men. The Angel's gift of flight, Marvel Girl's telepathy and telekinesis, the Beast's strength and agility, Iceman's sub-zero energy, and unfortunately, for Caliban, Cyclops' optic blast!
ZARKK
The blast slams Caliban's head down into the hard-packed snow, hard.
"The people here, they were my friends!" Mimic screams. "They took me in...and you attacked us for no reason!" Mimic punches Warpath back, causing James to release his hold on his leg.
"What are you talking about?" James asks. "We found this station trashed!" James rushes forward and delivers a roundhouse left to Mimic's chin.
Contact, flesh touches flesh. The Mimic's power continues to draw off Warpath's mutant abilities...but with unexpected results.
"I...your senses are heightened...sun...blinding...sound...bursting...How can you handle that much power?!" Mimic screams.
"Mister, I don't have the slightest idea what your problem is. But, as Cable has told me all too often, if your opponent give you an opening...take it!" James delivers a right-cross to the Mimic, knocking him from the air. But, before he can follow through, Mimic kicks him away with the strength absorbed from Warpath himself, plus that of the Beast. James flies through the air and is slammed completely through the PACRAT.
They're not gonna listen to me!" Mimic cries. "My only hope is to kill them before they kill me!"
X-Force's Personnel Assault Carrier Recon/Aquatic/Terrain, PACRAT for short. Was only recently recovered intact after their former headquarters was destroyed by the assassin for hire known as Arcade. Warpath's steely frame crashing through one side and out the other, however, may have just put it out of commission. For good.
"Telepath!" Mimic screams inside Cable's still burning brain. "If you're their leader, why did you attack this station? Were you after me? Tell me why you came! Why you killed my friends!"
"Wasn't' us...came to help...Xavier..." Cable projects back in answer.
"Xavier?!" Mimic screams.
While, still hovering above, Sunspot bristles.
"He's moving in on Cable. Now what do I do?! There's really no other way around it. After all Cable's done for me, I've got to get in there! No matter what he says" Sunspot surges forward and down, shouting, "You may have caught the others by surprise, but X-Force is a team! And when you take on one of us you take on all of us!"
"NO!" Mimic screams, as Sunspot makes contact with him and drives him back into the snow.
"What the--" Cable exclaims upon seeing Sunspot attack. Then telepathically he projects, "Sunspot!"
"Don't worry, Cable. I've got it under control!" Bobby communicates through the psi-link.
"Sunspot, Bobby, I'm ORDERING you to break it OFF!" Cable telepathically vibrates Bobby's skull with the order.
"I can handle him, Cable." Bobby retorts, through the link. "Now get out of my head, so that I can take care of this madman!"
"You oughta listen to him!" Mimic tells him. "I think this was all a big mistake."
"Sure!" Sunspot delivers another roundhouse blow to Mimic. "On your part!"
"This kid's power level..." Mimic thinks as he feels the power of Sunspot begin to surge through him. "...it's not like anything I've run into before. Maybe too much...no...it is too much...TOO MUCH!!!"
BABOOM
This is what Cable has feared all along. He hadn't ordered Sunspot back for his own safety, but as a precaution for them all. The way Mimic's powers work is through physical proximity. By engaging with Sunspot, they each became solar batteries...both positive in their creation. And when two positive energies collide...the result is always catastrophic!
By the time Cable can finally get up, he is aware of only one thing. A bad situation has gotten worse.
"Warpath's still out." Cable checks the young Apache's vitals with a quick scan. "But I can sense Caliban coming to and..." Cable turns towards Roberto. "SUNSPOT!! I'm only going to say this once, DaCosta. When we're in the field and I give an order, I always have a good reason. Do you understand?"
"I..." Bobby's head drops in shame. "Yes, Sir...um, not to bring up a sore subject, but...where is the mimic now?"
That's what I'd like to know." Cable replies. "Assessing the situation, we've lost all communications, the PACRAT looks trashed and--"
"If it would make Cable/Nathan happy, Caliban can lead you to Bird-Man, Cable/Nathan." Caliban offers happily.
Despite his lack of...polish, Caliban does one thing better than anyone. He tracks mutants anywhere on the planet. And since the Mimic has 'acquired' mutant abilities, he now qualifies.
"Lead on, MacDuff." Cable tells him.
"Did Cable/Nathan forget Caliban's name?" Cal' asks innocently.
"Forget it." Cable sighs. "Just find the Mimic, please."
Minutes, and a mile and a half later.
"Uh-oh, Cable/Nathan isn't going to be happy." Caliban almost whispers the words.
"Now what?" Cable asks.
"Bird-Man's trail ends here...but Bird-Man is not here." Caliban says meekly.
"He couldn't have just vanished." Sunspot says.
"Apparently, he did." Cable states, after a telepathic scan fails to turn up anything. "But not without a struggle, it seems." Cable adds pointing towards another crater that is still smoking from some unknown power.
"Cable/Nathan sounds worried." Caliban notes.
"I am worried." Cable informs him. "Somebody set us up. The Mimic didn't want a fight. He only wanted to be left alone. And now...he's gone...and we've got no answers."
"Cable...could that happen to one of us?" Bobby asks, softly. "I mean, could our powers get so out of control that we would have to go away...to a place like this?"
"I...hope not, Bobby." Cable replies, just as softly. "I hope not..."
The lack of certainty in Cable's voice chills them all. For, in truth, none of them know how close they might be to the tragic life that was Calvin Rankin's...
Finis
Our Journey Continues With
The Eve of Forever
Return To
Go to the Site Index For a complete mapping out of this site. From here you may jump to any point in the Askani'Son's history that you wish.
This page hosted by 